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Keep the torch of co-operation going

It’s been great to see the communities of the West Kootenay coming together in preparation for the 2011 BC Seniors Games over these past many months, and it was wonderful to see that sense of collaboration continue as organizers gathered for a torch-lighting ceremony in Castlegar on Tuesday night.

It’s been great to see the communities of the West Kootenay coming together in preparation for the 2011 BC Seniors Games over these past many months, and it was wonderful to see that sense of collaboration continue as organizers gathered for a torch-lighting ceremony in Castlegar on Tuesday night.

The event marked the official, 100-day countdown to the beginning of the games, which are expected to bring 3,200 senior athletes from around the province to the West Kootenay. The games venues, themselves, are located in Nelson, Castlegar and Trail but you can bet the impact of this massive influx of people will be felt up in Rossland, over in Grand Forks and throughout all the smaller communities in between.

The co-operation between the three host cities has been refreshing, as municipal leaders put aside any past differences or disagreements between them and worked together for the betterment of what they’ve taken to calling the whole “tri-cities” area. We think Trail Mayor Dieter Bogs put it well when he spoke of this inter-municipal collaboration.

“I think that’s a sign of the future, because no one community can really do this alone any more,” Bogs said.

We hope to see more co-operation between this region’s communities in the future. The collection of small cities up and down the river valleys and mountainsides of the West Kootenay is much stronger united than it is divided.

“I think the spirit within the Kootenay region, within our tri-cities coming together to host these games, is very strong,” Nelson city councillor Debra Kozak said on Tuesday.

We agree, and we hope it stays that way well after the closing ceremonies.

- Castlegar News